


all this and heaven too

by eisquosamo



Series: somewhere only we know [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Best Friends Forever, Bucky worries all day, M/M, Steve gets sick for the first time, they just love each other so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:44:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3812692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eisquosamo/pseuds/eisquosamo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You have a good heart, James. Steven’s lucky to have you.”</p><p>Bucky smiled bashfully. “Nah, I’m the one who’s lucky.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	all this and heaven too

**_January, 1998_ **

 

“Hey Buck, think fast!”

Bucky turned just in time for his face to get pelted with a cold, sloppily-constructed snowball. His nose stung for a moment with the chill, but he was smiling. “No fair! I’m gonna getcha, punk!” he called, kneeling down to scoop snow into his hands. Steve was laughing, cheeks pink despite being tightly bundled up.

Snow was falling all around them. It was soft snow that was perfect for packing. Both boys were tightly bundled up against the chill, donned in scarves and coats and mittens and hats. They’d already built a snowman. He was standing beneath the tree house wearing a crooked smile and George’s old top hat.

Snow days, Bucky thought, were the best part of winter.

He smashed a bit of snow in between his hands and hurled it at Steve, who managed to dodge it slightly. It came in contact with his shoulder and Steve shouted. Bucky was laughing. “Now we’re even, ya little punk! What do you say we—“

He was cut short, however, as Steve kicked more snow in his direction. Bucky shook some of the little flakes out of his hair. When he looked back to Steve, there was a telltale mischievous glint in his friend’s eyes. Bucky’s brows shot up. “Oh, is that how it is? All right, Rogers, that’s it! I’m not going easy on you, now!”

A few more snowballs were pelted back and forth, both boys shouting at one another. Finally, Bucky gave up trying to attack from a distance and took off after Steve. They chased each other around the yard, tussling about in the snow, laughing breathlessly.

After a little while, Steve stopped, and Bucky took note of the way that his shoulders shook with each deep inhale. Immediately, worry washed over him and he stopped to stand next to him. “Stevie?” he asked, brow furrowed in concern. “What’s wrong? You need your inhaler?”

Steve took a deep breath. “Nah,” he said, and his voice sounded strained when he spoke. He gave a quiet, wet-sounding cough, and Bucky frowned. Steve smiled, though, and said, “Quit your worryin’, Buck. I’m okay.”

Still, Bucky wasn’t convinced. “Let’s go inside and get some cocoa or something.” When Steve’s mouth twitched downward stubbornly, Bucky quickly added, “I’m freezing. Plus it’s no fun if I beat you while you’re not at your best. C’mon.”

With that, Bucky tossed his arms around Steve’s shoulders and led him inside.

 

* * *

 

Unfortunately for the boys, the plow and salt trucks managed to clear the roads enough for safe travel by the next morning. School was back in session. Bucky pouted as he buttoned up his coat and pulled on his boots. He couldn’t help but smile when his mother and Rebecca kissed him goodbye, though.

Bucky munched on the last bit of his toast, backpack slung over his shoulders, as he traipsed over to the Rogers household. It was eight o’clock on the dot. He knocked three times and waited, popping the rest of the toast into his mouth and licking crumbs and butter off of his fingers.

The door swung open, and Bucky swallowed down his food before grinning. “Hey! You ready to—“

His face fell. Instead of Steve, he was greeted by the pale face of Sarah. “Hi, honey,” she said, smiling at him. Bucky didn’t miss the dark circles under her eyes. Immediately, his stomach dropped. “Where’s Steve?”

Sarah sighed. “He’s not feeling too well today. I’m going to keep him home from school so he can rest.”

A knot tightened in Bucky’s stomach. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“Of course, sweetheart. He gets sick like this pretty often. Well… I guess it hasn’t been too bad the past couple of years. He’s just small for his age and sometimes it’s harder for him to fight off germs.” She wiped at her cheeks, briefly. “You’d better go before you miss the bus, sweetie.”

Bucky nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Could I come and see him after school? I’ll get his homework for him and everything. I’ll be real quiet and stuff, I promise.”

Sarah sighed, and her expression softened. “Of course.” She reached out and carded her fingers gently through Bucky’s tousled brown hair. “You have a good heart, James. Steven’s lucky to have you.”

Bucky smiled bashfully. “Nah, I’m the one who’s lucky.”

 

* * *

 

Bucky spent the entire morning worrying about Steve. That worry had only gotten worse during lunch, when he realized that Steve wouldn’t be there to eat with him and their friends. The others had missed Steve and hoped he’d feel better, of course, but the only one that seemed to really notice how distressed Bucky was about it all was their friend Sam.

The boy, who had a seemingly endless collection of aircraft and military memorabilia, plopped down next to Bucky as he picked aimlessly at his pizza. “Hey,” he said. Bucky only mumbled in answer. He caught sight of the aircraft on the front of Sam’s shirt. “Nice plane,” he said dryly.

Sam narrowed his eyes. “It’s not _just_ a plane! It's a Falcon, dude.”

Bucky shrugged.

Sam sighed sympathetically. “We’re all worried about him. But I’m sure he’ll be fine. His mom’s taking care of him, y’know? And he’s pretty tough.”

Bucky was still frowning. “He’s small." 

Sam grinned and nudged Bucky with his elbow. “Don’t let him hear you saying that.” He continued when a grin reluctantly twitched at Bucky’s lips. “Seriously, he’s gonna be fine. If he isn’t back tomorrow, we’ll all go over with balloons or something.”

Bucky sighed, his shoulders relaxing a little. “Thanks, Sam.”

“No problem.”

Just as he went back to picking at his food, a quiet voice came from his other side. “My mother boils potatoes or uses garlic for colds.”

Bucky nearly jumped, and turned to see Natasha perched on the seat next to him. She was often so quiet that it was hard to detect when she was around. Her dark red hair was tied up into a neat bun at the top of her head. Bucky blinked in surprise. “Oh… okay. I’ll tell Mrs. Rogers. Thanks, Nat.”

She nodded once and turned to the other side of the table where she’d been conversing with one of her friends from her ballet class. Over her shoulder, she called, “Hey, Wilson. Nice jet.”

Sam threw his hands up in exasperation. “It’s a  _Falcon_!”

 

* * *

 

Bucky practically ran home from the bus stop after school. He’d become increasingly more anxious as the day had progressed; by the time the final bell rang, his leg had been bouncing so violently that he’d knocked his knee into the top of his desk more than once.

He’d made sure to collect all of Steve’s missed work and tuck it into his folder before heading out. After getting off at his stop, he ran home, knapsack hitting him rhythmically in the small of his back. He propped the front door open only long enough to call, “I’m going to check on Steve!” before he was racing next door and knocking anxiously.

Sarah answered almost immediately—Bucky figured she must’ve been waiting for him. “Hi, Mrs. Rogers,” he said, stepping in and taking his boots off on the mat. He was slightly out of breath, and paused as he reminded himself to keep his voice down. “How’s he doing? Is he okay? I have his homework, but he’s probably too sick to do it right now. That’s okay though, I can help him. Does he have a fever? Does he need any juice? I saved my juice for him. Natasha said you should cook potatoes and garlic or somethin’, have you ever done that? Maybe that’ll help. Is he awake? Can I see him?”

Sarah laughed fondly, leaning down to drop a kiss onto the top of his head. “He’s just fine, honey. Go on up and see him.”

Though he wanted to take the stairs two at a time, Bucky reminded himself to go slow. It seemed like ages before he reached his best friend’s bedroom. The door was cracked, and Bucky took a deep breath before pushing it open.

Steve was sitting up, surrounded by fluffy pillows. His cheeks were dusted pink, nose swollen and puffy. His end table was littered with several things—a half of a glass of orange juice, a few bottles of medicine, his inhaler, a tissue box, and one of the household phones. There were wadded up tissues on the floor next to the bed. The T.V. was on but turned down low—once glance told Bucky that his friend was watching  _Indiana Jones_.

Steve smiled, brightening considerably when he saw his friend. “Hey, Buck,” he said, voice scratchy. Bucky stepped in and immediately sat down at the edge of Steve’s bed. “Hi, Stevie.” Suddenly, he was feeling very shy. He hadn’t seen Steve this bad before. “I, um… well, _we_ … missed ya at school today.” His eyes roamed over the expanse of his friend’s tired face. “How are you feeling?”

Steve shrugged. Before he could answer, he was forced to turn and cough into his sleeve. Bucky’s heart leapt with worry, but he did feel a little better when he realized it didn’t sound as wet as it had the day before.

Steve regained his composure. “Sorry. M’okay, Buck. Just need to be more careful being outside and all. I might not be back tomorrow, but I definitely will be on Thursday.”

Bucky chewed on his lower lip. “You gotta promise you’ll take it easy, all right? You need to rest up and be good and take your medicine and all that so you can come back."

“Yeah, yeah, all right.” Steve laughed, and then coughed into his sleeve again.

Bucky reached out and rubbed Steve’s back gently through the little fit. “All right, Rogers, no more talkin’. You need to rest up.” Bucky didn’t want to go so soon, of course, but he knew that rest was the best thing for his friend.

“You don’t have to leave,” said Steve suddenly. “You could stay and watch _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ with me. We don’t have to talk or anything.”

Bucky pretended to have to consider it, but he was unable to keep up his act. Within seconds, he was piling into the bed and under the covers beside his best friend. Before long, his eyelids began to droop.

Sarah peeked in an hour later to check on the boys. On the television, the credits were rolling. Steve and Bucky were huddled together, sleeping soundly. Steve’s head had dropped onto Bucky’s shoulder. Sarah smiled, feeling a swell of affection for the two boys and she tiptoed out and headed downstairs to make dinner.

Sarah had a feeling that Bucky would catch the cold Steve had. She had an even stronger feeling that Bucky wouldn’t mind, not even one bit.

**Author's Note:**

> What do you guys think? Should I keep going? I hope you all like it, because I have lots of things planned for these guys! Next part will probably be in middle school. And if you thought you felt sorry for Bucky in this part, just wait for the next one... once Steve starts picking fights with guys three times his size! He's going to give poor Bucky a stress ulcer!
> 
> Also, if anyone would be willing to help me translate a little bit of Russian for later chapters, I'd really appreciate the help!


End file.
